"Pearce has tonight departed for the overseas facility with his mother, Terri.

"The Club's concerns for Mitchell's welfare remain paramount as he seeks treatment," the statement read.

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Mitchell Pearce after speaking at a press conference in Surry Hills on Friday with his sister Tatum and mother Terri.

Photo: Kate Geraghty

The announcement comes hours after Pearce made a tearful public apology for his actions on Australia Day when the intoxicated captain was filmed simulating a lewd act with a small dog in a Sydney apartment.

Accompanied by his mother Terri, sister Tatum and friend Liam Roach, the son of Balmain great Steve Roach, Pearce looked a shattered man after his very public humiliation.

"I'm embarrassed and take full responsibility for my actions," Pearce said. "I acknowledge that I have a problem with alcohol and it's something I need to address. It's not an excuse but finally a realisation that I finally need help.

"Together with the club I'm working on a solution for me to address the issues which will come out in the next couple of days. I just want to thank everyone for turning up and I apologise again."

Pearce's playing career is set to be on hold while he enters the overseas rehabilitation clinic for alcohol problems as the NRL confirmed it was investigating alleged text messages detailing the behaviour of Sydney Roosters players at the Royal Oak Hotel and the party where the NSW Origin playmaker later disgraced himself on video.

Images of the alleged text messages from a fellow partygoer, who claimed to have caught a taxi with Pearce and teammates to the apartment of a woman where the heavily intoxicated 26-year-old Roosters captain was filmed in simulated sex act with a dog, were posted on social media on Friday. The text messages make reference to "liney lineys" which can refer to cocaine.

While the NRL integrity unit is checking the veracity of the texts to make sure they are not part of a social media hoax, Fairfax Media understands investigators are treating them seriously.